Developer: Top of church's bell tower coming down Tuesday

WATERVLIET -- The bell tower of St. Patrick's Church is expected to be taken down this morning, according to an official with developer Nigro Companies.

The work would finalize the deconstruction of the 1890 former Roman Catholic church to make way for a state of the art Price Chopper supermarket on 19th Street.

Steve Powers with Nigro said that he expected the Dan's Hauling and Demolition to remove the top 30 feet of the 137-foot tower and take that piece of the remaining brick edifice down with cables to ensure a safe demolition.

"There is no chance it will get close to 19th Street," he said, noting that the street in front of the church would not be closed while demolition is taking place.

The work is being done to prepare the site for a new nearly 40,000-square-foot Price Chopper super market and two smaller commercial buildings.

The project was fought by the Citizens for St. Patrick's preservationist group, which still has pending court litigation.

The project at the 3.5-acre site also includes the demolition of six row houses, a rectory, former school, and boiler house.